Sound Advice from Monica
When it comes to the freedom, beauty and strength of the voice, I’m always panning for gold. I like to gather nuggets of wisdom from my beloved teachers, colleagues, students, books and my own vocal practice and experimentation. If someone teaches me something, I’m always judicious, trying it out, clarifying the instruction and checking its value before passing it on. All the lessons I’ve taken through the years have led to many “ah-ha” moments and ultimately have informed my vocal philosophy. Here is a sampling of my teaching philosophy as expressed in my lessons with my students.
Sound Advice #1 – Breath, Vibration, Tone
What man calls beauty is the harmony of all he experiences...there is music in color, there is music in lines, there is music in the forest where there is a variety of trees and [...]
Sound Advice #2 – Practice Makes perfectly Happy People
Practicing speaking, singing or any other musical instrument takes discipline and commitment. When you take voice lessons, it’s a given that you need to practice what you’ve absorbed in the lesson. That’s how our voices [...]
Sound Advice #3 – Coming To Our Senses
How do we know when we've sung well? Aside from the kudos from audience members or the recording device, it's our senses that tell us. Singing is a multi-sensory experience - from aural and visual [...]
Sound Advice #4 – Tension & Elasticity
Vivien Mackie, an Alexander Technique teacher who as a young woman studied cello with the great Pablo Casals, quoted him as saying "we are elastic," that elasticity in the body is key to free movement. [...]
Sound Advice #5 – When Should Kids Start Voice Lessons?
When I first started teaching, I abided by the dictum held by many traditional voice teachers that a child should not start voice lessons until their teens, after their vocal folds have developed, usually at [...]